Valiasr Street in Tehran

Valiasr Street in Tehran is one of the main thoroughfares running north to south and vice versa in the city. Before the Islamic Revolution of Iran, Valiasr Street was known as Pahlavi Street. Valiasr Street is also famous for its plane trees, though their number was much greater in the past than it is today.

Before Reza Shah came to power, palaces were built in the north and south of Tehran by the Qajar kings, like Ahmad Shah. Due to the location of the Winter Palace in South Tehran (Marble Palace), Reza Shah decided to extend the access road from the palaces in North Tehran to the Marble Palace. After coming to power, Reza Shah named this route Pahlavi Private Road. Before that, small dirt roads and local pathways existed along the route of Pahlavi Private Road.

The considerable length of Pahlavi Private Road made it the longest road in the Middle East, and today Valiasr Street remains the longest street in Iran and the Middle East. During the reign of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, its name was changed to Pahlavi Street. After the Islamic Revolution of Iran, Pahlavi Street was known as Mosaddeq Street for two years before being renamed Valiasr Street.

In 1939, plane trees were planted on both sides of Valiasr Street, spaced two meters apart, and a rosebush was planted between every two plane tree saplings. Two wells were also dug in the Zaferanieh area for watering these trees. Considering the length of Valiasr Street, it is estimated that around 20,000 plane trees were planted, although some accounts mention up to 60,000 trees, but there is no precise information to confirm this number. Today, only about 8,000 of these plane trees remain on Valiasr Street.